ASIA-PACIFIC MILITARIES BET ON UNMANNED SYSTEMS TO MEET REGIONAL CHALLENGES

摘要

Countries in the Asia-Pacific region are embracing the use of unmanned solutions for maritime missions, with several nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and with extensive littorals either operating or planning to acquire unmanned systems. Their reasons for doing so vary, from a desire to monitor the activities of China's increasingly assertive Navy to watching for pirates or transnational criminals. Military leaders in the region have chosen platforms that range from Australia's Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton - a high-altitude, long-endurance UAV - to the more modest Insitu ScanEagle.